Technicolor
by Peppermint Clouds
Summary: Hiccup had grown used to the harsh glow of the city lights and the feeling of the cold rain beating on his shoulders. He had a job, an apartment, and people who cared, which is more than one can ask for. Yet when a stranger stops to offer her red umbrella to him, he can't help but wonder when his world had become so colorless. [Modern AU. One shot?]


**Author's Note:** I'm not sure how, but this little thing has been hiding in a dusty corner on my computer since January. That's a pretty long time. It's been polished to the best of my ability since then, so enjoy.

Also, all of you amazing people of you who take the time to read my pre-story rants, please do one more thing for me. **Smile at someone today.** Whether it be your mom, or your sister, or some random kid on the street, try it. I gurantee that it will make both of you feel better. But remember: stranger danger is important too.

* * *

The city is like a long-forgotten art gallery. From the warm bronze of the penny lost in the gutter to the sleek black of a car's spinning tires, there are colors all around us, even in the most inconspicuous of places. The heart itself is made up of a hundred different shades, ranging from the most timid of pinks to the most loving of reds.

But sometimes those colors and their worth are washed away with the rain, flooding the streets and sidewalks like the tears of a broken man. And there simply isn't a human being capable of fixing such a debacle.

But, oh, he tried.

Hiccup sat on the concrete steps of the local library, the brisk February air cutting through him like thousands of needles pressing into his skin, all at once. He folded his arms around himself as he watched the people walk by, far too lost in his thoughts to see them.

Heather hadn't been home when he had left that morning, which was never a good sign. Her purse had still been sitting by the door though, so he knew she would be home that night. His stomach turned uneasily at the thought and he buried his head in his hands.

He knew she was going to be in a worse mood than usual. In his rush to get out of the apartment, he hadn't left a note for her. And in the three years they had been dating, she had demanded that he _always_ leave notes for her, telling her where he would be and when. And he had obeyed without questioning her logic, because she was his entire world.

Deep down, he had always felt that it was wrong. Her angry words, her closed-mindedness, his endless love for her despite the physical and emotional pain it never failed to earn him

Hiccup knew there were _options._ The commercials for helplines, the magazine articles about _victims_ -God, he hated that word-and novels based on true stories told from both sides. He knew he could tell someone. But what good would that do when the court determined his innocence by his gender? No one would believe him if he tried to convince them that his girlfriend, who was nearly a full head shorter than him and worked with small children daily, terrified him.

So there he sat, watching the happy world move on without him. He had nowhere to go. If he tried to get back into the apartment, there was the chance that Heather was already there. And even if she wasn't, he knew that Kirsten, one of Heather's friends who just happened to live down the hall, would mention it to her the second Hiccup was out of earshot. And then Heather would know that instead of going to work, everyday he sat on the library steps and waited until six o'clock rolled around to begin the walk back to the store.

Two weeks ago Heather had told him to quit his job at a local animal shelter after he had a panic attack and caught the attention of one of his co-workers. When he had tried to reason with her, she had shoved him into the vanity in the bathroom. The gash above his left eyebrow had healed considerably since then, but he still avoided turning the light on when he went into the bathroom. Some things were better left unseen.

Heather had found him a job at a local bookstore, but after meeting the owner, a skeptical woman who stared at him like a caged animal when she wasn't questioning him, and tolerating a few painfully long days, he hadn't been able to go back. So he lied and told Heather that he was working, that he absolutely loved the employee discounts on the new books and would bring a few best sellers home eventually, while instead he was doing nothing but worrying himself sick.

Hiccup squeezed his eyes shut in an attempt to block out the light and sink even deeper into his thoughts. He had just begun to slip away when he felt the feather light touch of a hand on his shoulder.

 _Heather._

He bolted upright, his legs turning to jelly as he squinted against the invading light.

But it wasn't Heather. It was a blonde woman he had never seen before. Her blue eyes were wide with concern under the hood of her jacket. Hiccup sighed and pushed himself to his feet, because surely she had only stopped to tell him that he was in her way. As he did so, she flashed a small smile at him.

"Hi," the woman chirped suddenly. She hesitated before holding her hand out to him. He shook it slowly.

"Hello," he replied, confused. "Um, have we met before?"

The woman laughed and glanced down at her shoes, a pair of fur-trimmed boots that belonged in a viking exhibit in a museum. "No. I just saw you sitting over here all by yourself and thought I should say something."

Hiccup glanced behind the woman, expecting to see someone holding a camera or a group of her friends giggling, but there was no one. He slowly returned his gaze to her face, then tore it away when she smiled again. "Thanks I guess," he said.

"Astrid," she said. "I work at the convenience store just down the street.

"You mean Hofferson's?"

"Yeah. It's a family business," she said, brushing a strand of wet hair out of her face. The rain was beginning to pick up. Heather would be coming by to pick him up from the store soon, but his legs refused to move.

"I'm Henry by the way," he mumbled, hoping that she would sense his discomfort and move along. Yet there she stood, her jacket soaked and her mascara running despite the unopened umbrella in her hand, smiling at him.

Hiccup was starting to think she was crazy.

"Are you cold?" she asked, raising her voice so he could her over the loud hush of the rain hitting the street.

"A little, but my ride will be here soon."

The woman, _Astrid,_ nodded and sat down beside him. Hiccup shifted away from her, still wary of the stranger despite the cheery glow that radiated off of her.

"You probably think I'm insane for doing this," she said, then laughed quietly.

 _Well she wasn't wrong._

"It's just that every day I see you sitting out here by yourself on my way home. Call it whatever you want, but I was worried. So here I am."

Hiccup's heart skipped a beat. This perfect stranger was _worried_ for _him_? For all she knew he had just killed someone and was waiting for the escape car to pick him up. But she was here, real and all sorts of beautiful, just to make sure he was okay.

No one had ever done anything like that for him, not even his own father.

"Thank you," he said.

Astrid shook her head. "No problem. So where did you say you were from?"

"I live here. In the city, I mean. Not at the library."

She snickered at his awkwardness, her pink lips parting to reveal a bright smile. "I live just a few blocks from here. It's kind of nice to walk to work, until it starts to snow anyway."

Hiccup opened his mouth to respond when his phone vibrated in his pocket.

 _where the hell r u?!_

"Yeah," he whispered.

Astrid must have noticed the sudden turn his attitude took, because she nudged his shoulder with hers playfully. "Tell me about yourself, Henry," she said.

"There's not much to tell," Hiccup sighed. He turned his phone off without responding to Heather's text, knowing that he would pay for it later but not ready to deal with her.

"But there has to be _something_."

His phone went off again, then once more after that. He could practically hear Heather shouting at him now.

"I used to have a cat," he lied. "Toothless."

It wasn't entirely untrue. Toothless was an energetic black kitten he had grown close to while working at the shelter. If not for Heather's hatred toward animals, Hiccup would have adopted him in a heartbeat.

"Hey, that's pretty cool. I have a blue Great Dane named Stormfly."

 _call me NOW_

"She has this stuffed dragon that she likes to cuddle with at night. It's the cutest thing ever."

 _i know your phone is on!_

Hiccup feigned interest. "I bet she's great."

"Yeah, she is," Astrid mumbled. She rubbed her arms through her jacket. "Hey, do you want to go back to my place for coffee?"

Hiccup froze. His heart shouted _yes, don't let this amazing woman get away_ while his mind cursed him for his stupidity. He didn't even know her.

His phone began to ring in the silence, filling him with dread. "I can't," he whispered.

She nodded slowly. "Well let's talk sometime, okay? This was fun." She held her phone out to him, clearly hoping to exchange numbers.

Hiccup hesitated before hitting the ignore button and handing his phone over. He typed his own phone number in as quickly he could.

But not quick enough.

Just before he could return Astrid's phone, his own vibrated with another new text. He watched the color drain from her face, horrified, as she read the notification that popped up.

He cleared his throat awkwardly, focusing his gaze elsewhere as she took her phone from him.

"Thanks," he whispered. _Was he saying that too often?_

She nodded. "Look, if you ever want to talk...just call, okay? I'm never too busy," she said.

He offered her a weak smile.

"Oh, and one last thing…" Astrid slid her phone into a pocket in her jacket before opening the red umbrella and handing it to him.

He stared at her, confused.

"I would hate for you to get sick out here. Besides, I have others at home," she said.

"But...this is _your_ umbrella."

She shrugged her shoulders. "You'll just have to return it the next time we meet. Stay safe, Henry. This city is a terrible place at night."

Hiccup watched as she walked down the steps and turned onto a different street, gone _until the next time they would meet._ He couldn't believe that she wanted to see him again.

Then his phone vibrated, jerking him from his thoughts violently.

 _i'm going to kill you when i find u_

 _i love u babe, just tell me where u are so i know you're safe_

Hiccup inhaled sharply. After a moment to collect his thoughts, he powered his phone off and ran down the steps. It took him mere seconds to push his way through the crowd and catch up with the blonde stranger.

"Hey, about that coffee…"


End file.
